Wednesday, July 15, 2009

I recently finished reading “Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World” by Jack Weatherford, a fantastic book on the history of Genghis Khan and the Mongols. As with all empires, the Mongol dynasty had its high point and its eventual collapse – and just like Rome (and other empires) the Mongol dynasty had been so large and solid, that its disappearance was unthinkable.

From Weatherford’s book:

“With so many empires striving to maintain the illusion of the Mongol Empire in everything from politics to art, public opinion seemed obstinately unwilling to believe that it no longer existed. Nowhere was the belief in the empire longer lasting or more important than in Europe, where, in 1492, more than a century after the last khan ruled over China, Christopher Columbus convinced the monarchs Isabella and Ferdinand that he could reestablish sea contact and revive the lost commerce with the Mongol court of the Great Khan. With the breakup of the Mongol communication system, the Europeans had not heard about the fall of the empire and the overthrow of the Great Khan. Columbus, therefore, insisted that although the Muslims barred the land route from Europe to the Mongol court, he could sail west from Europe across the World Ocean and arrive in the land described by Marco Polo.”

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